CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — Northern Iowa made sure Monmouth’s first FCS playoff appearance in program history was a short one. Backed by a rejuvenated passing attack and a bevy of early turnovers, the Panthers rolled in Saturday’s postseason opener, 46-7, at the UNI-Dome.

UNI scored on each of its six first-half drives — four touchdowns, two field goals — en route to a 33-0 intermission lead. Monmouth, meanwhile, didn’t eclipse 100 total yards until midway through the third quarter, thanks in large part to three early interceptions that halted any offensive momentum. Nikholi Jaghai snagged two, including one on the game’s second play, and Xavior Williams grabbed the other.

The blowout victory propels UNI into the second round, where it’ll get a road rematch with South Dakota State at 2 p.m. Dec. 2.

Here’s what we learned from Saturday’s win:

Welcome back

It had been two weeks since Eli Dunne last took a snap, but the UNI quarterback didn’t need much time to heat back up. Dunne, who exited after a hard hit at Missouri State on Nov. 11 and didn’t play last week against Indiana State, threw TD passes on the Panthers’ first three drives and looked like his old self.

With holes open all over against a porous Monmouth secondary, the redshirt junior finished 18-for-26 for 260 yards and four touchdowns before giving way to backup Colton Howell late in the third quarter.

"It was good to get on there in rhythm right away," Dunne said. "We were able to maintain that throughout the whole game, so that was good."

As has been the case throughout the season, Dunne leaned heavily on dynamic targets Isaiah Weston and Daurice Fountain, who snagged a season-high 10 catches for 139 yards and two scores. Weston hauled in a 16-yard TD less than three minutes in to ignite the UNI assault, finishing with 65 yards receiving on just three grabs.

The Hawks entered having surrendered 249.1 passing yards per game this season, and it quickly became clear that Monmouth was simply outmatched and overpowered from a talent standpoint. But with a monumental intra-conference showdown looming next, UNI at least needed to get Dunne back in a groove under center.

The Panthers accomplished that.

"I already knew that was going to happen," Fountain said. "I've been practicing with Eli the last couple weeks even though he wasn't 100 percent, and it was real nice to see him come out there and just be comfortable."

An unlikely receiver

The first two goal-line calls were runs that went nowhere, so the Panthers busted out the trickery.

And it worked — to perfection.

Facing a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line early in the first, Dunne went play-action and found his fullback open in the corner of the end zone for a short TD pass. Simple enough, right?

Farley did have a scoop-and-score earlier in the year against Cal Poly, but it’s safe to assume this was his first offensive touchdown in quite some time. The local product did receive some carries as a prep standout at Cedar Falls High School, but QuikStats shows no end zone trips during his three varsity seasons.

UNI’s 38-18 win at South Dakota State on Oct. 14 was easily the Panthers’ most impressive win, as they thrived off Marcus Weymiller’s return en route to a top-10 upset. The UNI running back didn’t receive a carry in any of the season’s first five games after suffering an early ankle injury, but Weymiller torched the Jackrabbits for 170 rushing yards on 42 carries.

The Panthers will now get a rematch with South Dakota State after throttling Monmouth, 46-7, in Saturday's playoff opener at the UNI-Dome.(Photo: Courtesy of UNI Athletics)

It’ll be hard to duplicate that dominance, but the Panthers’ familiarity should help. They won’t be overwhelmed by facing the No. 5 overall team, but a fine-tuned game plan and flawless execution is imperative to pull a second upset.

"They'll be ready for us," Mark Farley said. "They've had two weeks to get ready for us — we know that — so we'll have to enjoy this one tonight and go back and find what we need to do in that particular game. But they're a heck of a football team, and it should be a great football game."

Dargan Southard covers preps, recruiting, Iowa and UNI athletics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.